Psych 107 Chapter 2: Research

what is the importance of research in psychology?

it is mandatory for validating claims because of its empirical nature

what does empirical mean?

grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing

how do you think critically about research claims?

What is the expertise of the person making the claim? What might they gain if the claim is valid? Does the claim seem justified given the evidence? What do other researchers think of the claim?

deductive reasoning

results are logical predictions derived from a general premise

inductive reasoning

general conclusions are drawn from specific observations/scenarios

scientific method

scientists test ideas (hypotheses/theories) through deductive reasoning, hypotheses tested through empirical observations, and scientists make conclusion based on inductive reasoning

theory

well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena

hypothesis

tentative and testable statement (prediction) about the relationship between two or more variables

falsifiability

capable of being shown to be incorrect

types of research

case studies, naturalistic observation, survey research, archival research, cross sectional/longitudinal

case (clinical) studies

studies that focus on one individual

pro: allows for lots of insight into a case

con: difficult to generalize results to the larger population

naturalistic observation

the observation of behavior in its natural setting

pro: can observe genuine behavior

con: prone to observer bias

observer bias

when observations may be skewed to align with observer expectations

survey research

pro: get info from lots of people

con: people may lie; less info you can get

archival research

uses past records or existing data sets to answer various research questions, or to search for interesting patterns or relationships

pro: data are already obtained (less $/time)

con: can’t change what information is available

cross-sectional research

compares multiple segments of a population at a single time (such as different age groups)

longitudinal research

studies in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or measured repeatedly over an extended period of time

attrition

reduction in number of research participants as some drop out of the study over time

correlation coefficiant (pearson’s r)

number from -1 to +1, indicating the strength and direction of the relationship between variables, and usually represented by the variable r

positive correlation

two variables change in the same direction together

negative correlation

two variables change in opposite directions relative to the other